This is in response to your letter dated February 21, addressed to Mr.
William Funcheon, Area Director at the Lansing, Michigan, Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) Area Office. A response was sent to you by
the Chicago Regional Office on March 9. As you needed further clarification,
your letter was subsequently forwarded to this office. Your letter requests
interpretation of 29 CFR 1910.263(l)(9)(i) and 1910.263(l)(9)(ii) standards
pertaining to the inspection of bakery ovens.

The OSHA standard at 29 CFR 1910.263(l)(9)(ii) specifies that annual
inspections of bakery ovens shall be conducted by representatives of the oven
manufacturers. Since the impact of a literal interpretation could be
profound, OSHA feels that such inspections may be accomplished by qualified
representatives of an oven manufacturer who are knowledgeable of the various
safety considerations and who by training and experience are capable of
verifying the safe operational characteristics of the equipment.

OSHA interprets "Safety Devices", as referred to in 29 CFR 1910.263(l)(9)
(ii), as fail-safe devices and as components of safety control systems
installed to ensure that explosions or explosive conditions are not developed
within an oven. Safety devices are installed to automatically shut down the
oven in a safe manner in the event of an occurrence of a hazardous condition.
As the safety controls installed on the various ovens vary, a list of
typical safety controls and devices presented in Table 4-5A (enclosed) of the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Fire Protection Handbook
(Fourteenth Edition) may further clarify your questions on safety devices.

Your letter states that some of your clients and customers believe that
barrier guards are protecting devices. OSHA interprets "Protecting Devices"
in this context as devices which protect employees from fire and explosion
hazards in the event a safety device as defined above does not eliminate
development of a hazardous condition. Examples of protecting devices are
explosion vents, automatic fire sprinklers, etc.

As indicated by Mr. James Kontos, Acting Assistant Regional Administrator,
Chicago Regional Office, in his letter dated March 9, "Safety Guards" are
protective barriers installed to safeguard employees when an oven is in
operation and are not considered to be protecting devices as specified under
29 CFR 1910.263(l)(9)(i).

Attached is a letter from the above-named attorney's office. They are
requesting an interpretation of our regulations regarding periodic
inspections of bakery ovens for their client, APV Baker, Inc., a bakery oven
manufacturer.

The regulation 29 CFR 1910.263(l)(9)(ii) requires all safety devices be
inspected not less than once a year by representatives of the oven
manufacturers. The source of the regulation was ANSI Z50.1-1947, "Safety Code
for Bakery Equipment,"

We have reviewed the most recent publication of ANSI Z50.1, which was
published in 1983. The ANSI Standard now allows the plant management or the
authority having jurisdiction, or both, to prescribe the time interval at
which the equipment and safety controls be tested for service reliability.
ANSI/NFPA 86A-1977 is listed as a guide for establishing an inspection
schedule. As you know, if the workplace is in compliance with current
industry consensus standards, a violation of the applicable OSHA regulation
may be considered to be de minimus. Therefore, the following two issues
require clarification:

(1) Is the oven manufacturer responsible for annual inspections of
safety devices on ovens?

(2) What is OSHA's definition of a "safety device" as it relates to
this regulation?

We have informed the oven's manufacturer's attorney, Mr. Clinton, that his
letter has been forwarded to the National Office, and you will be responding
to him directly. We would appreciate a copy of your response.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter. If there are any questions,
please contact the ARA for Technical Support in Region V at FTS 353-2220.

This is in response to your letter dated February 21, 1989 requesting an
interpretation and clarification of the safety devices required by 29 CFR
1910.263(l)(9)(ii) for bakery ovens.

Mr. Kontos, Safety Engineer, responded to your questions in a letter dated
March 9, 1989. Subsequently, you have requested further clarification. Due to
the National scope of these issues, we have decided to forward your letter to
the National Office, and have requested that they respond to your inquiries
directly. A copy of the letter is enclosed.

This letter is in response to your letter of February 21, 1989 which was
addressed to Mr. William Funcheon, Jr., Area Director of our Lansing,
Michigan OSHA Area Office. He has forwarded this letter to the Regional
Office for an interpretation and clarification of the safety devices outlined
in the subject, paragraph 29 CFR 1910.263(l)(9)(ii).

Safety devices are the components which were installed by the manufacturer
when they built (fabricated) the oven and/or devices which were/was installed
to improve the safety and operable aspects of the oven.

These devices are required to be inspected bimonthly by a qualified
employee. The paragraph is clear on the requirements and the qualifications
of the employee to perform the inspection.

Safety guards, on the other hand, are components such as barriers, guards,
or other components which were installed to safeguard employees when the oven
is in operation.

The safety devices will render the oven inoperable while a person or
employee is working the oven, or is in or at its burners or nozzles, etc..
The circuit breakers shall be locked with a padlock.

I have highlighted the components on the checklist which will require the
inspection because of the excessive flour dust which is for ever present in
the area.

Thank you for your interest in safety and health in the workplace. If I can
be of any further assistance, please let me know.

I am writing to follow up on a conversation which my associate, Jinya Chen,
had with you today. This office represents APV Baker, Inc., which is a
manufacturer of various equipment utilized in the food production industry,
including ovens. APV has received numerous requests pursuant to 29 CFR
1910.263(1)(9)(ii) to perform inspections of "safety devices" on ovens
manufactured by it. A dispute has arisen between APV and one of its
customers as to the scope of this requirement. We are seeking some guidance
from you with regard to this matter.

It is the understanding of APV's engineering staff that a "safety device"
refers to any feature included in the electrical or mechanical design of
equipment which shuts down the equipment in the event of an occurrence of
some abnormal operation. It does not, on the other hand, include guards,
which are referred to in the regulation as "protecting devices" and are
governed by 29 CFR 1910.263(1)(9)(i) and therefore need not be inspected by
the manufacturer on an annual basis.

APV has been utilizing the enclosed checklist in order to perform the
required inspections. As you will note, the checklist is intended to
identify those items falling within the checklist is intended to identify
those items falling within the checklist is intended to identify those items
falling within the definition of "safety device" outlined above. APV's
customer has questioned whether other items, such as guards, should be
included within the annual inspection. While such an inspection could be
conducted, APV is concerned that under this broader definition virtually
every safety aspect of the equipment, including its original design, would
have to be inspected on an annual basis.

I would appreciate your providing us with any assistance you might be able
to offer with regard to the intended scope of this regulation. if you are in
need of additional information to assist you, please do not hesitate to
contact me.

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.